1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a wing element on the spoiler of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motor vehicles are subject to lifting forces at increasing speed and these lifting forces reduce the ground adhesion of the motor vehicle. As a result, high-performance vehicles with highly streamlined configurations can face critical situations when operating at high speeds. Some motor vehicles are equipped with spoilers in their rear region to improve the handling performance. The spoilers comprise a substantially horizontal wing that is spaced from the vehicle body and is arranged transversely with respect to the direction of travel. The lower side of the wing has an aerodynamic profiling (curvature) to obtain an increased downward force for the motor vehicle. The curvature on the lower side of the spoiler is analogous to an upside-down airfoil of an aircraft, and hence the downward force on a motor vehicle increases as the curvature on the lower side of the spoiler wing increases. However, a greatly curved lower side also leads to an increased end surface of the wing and causes increased drag on the motor vehicle and greater fuel consumption for the motor vehicle. Therefore, spoilers of this type generally are moveable and extend out of the vehicle body only above a specified limit speed for deploying their aerodynamic effect. However, a moveable spoiler requires a relatively complicated mechanism for controlling the extension and retraction, and also requires a corresponding receiving region within the vehicle body. A spoiler of this type is known, for example, from DE 10002511.
Separation edges on the motor vehicle should be differentiated from spoilers of this type. The separation edges also produce an aerodynamic effect, but they do so in accordance with a completely different physical principle. In particular, in contrast to wings on a spoiler, air does not flow entirely around separation edges, and therefore separation edges do not have a lower side comparable to the lower side of a wing on a spoiler.